


Comforting A Friend

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21837223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets anxious about getting sick, and Jack helps him through it.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Comforting A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“Don’t stay up too late, you guys. We have to be ready to leave by ten tomorrow morning,” Rian said to Alex and Jack as they walked down the long motel hallway to their rooms.  
“Don’t be boring, Rian. We’re rock stars, that means we can stay up as late as we want to!” Jack exclaimed.   
“I mean it,” Rian said back.  
“Don’t worry, dude, we’ll sleep at a decent time tonight,” Alex stated.  
“Wow, way to be a buzz kill, Alex. Night, guys,” Jack said to his friends.  
“Goodnight, we’ll see you guys in the morning,” Zack replied. Alex pulled out his key to the room he was sharing with Jack and opened up the door.   
They were currently doing a small tour, playing shows all along the East Coast. They were currently in Washington, DC. They’d played a show there the night before, and spent the current day sightseeing, closing out their day by eating dinner at a local restaurant. In attempt to save some money, Rian and Zack shared a room, while Alex and Jack shared another.  
“Do you actually want to sleep already?” Jack asked, sounding a bit surprised.  
“Honestly, yeah, I do. I, um, didn’t sleep much last night, and I want to catch up some before our next show,” Alex cautiously replied.  
“I guess you’ve got a good point there, dude. I’m ready to get in bed if you are, then,” Jack said back.  
“Cool, I think I want to take a quick rinse. Don’t wait up for me, you can go on to sleep, if you want,” Alex said, doing everything he could to not make eye contact with Jack. Before Jack could reply, Alex quickly grabbed his PJs and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.   
Jack really wanted to figure out what was making Alex act so weird, but he knew that if he asked directly, Alex would just insist that nothing was up, and the conversation would just end there. He decided that in order to get the answer he wanted; he’d have to be a bit sneaky.   
He quickly changed into his PJs, then got into the giant king-sized bed that he had to share with Alex. He faced the window, thinking that if he looked like he was asleep, Alex might call his parents or girlfriend back home to talk about what was bothering him. Jack did feel a bit confused as to why Alex was being so secretive; they normally talked to each other about everything.   
Jack expected Alex to be in and out of the bathroom, so he was surprised when Alex walked out after twenty minutes had gone by. He heard Alex put his clothes into his suitcase, then walk over to the bed. After turning off the lamp, he got into bed and slowly started to shift around some.   
After a couple minutes, Jack noticed that Alex’s breathing had become a bit irregular but decided that he wanted to wait a bit to see where all of this was going. Not much longer, Jack started to hear muffled cries coming from his friend and felt a huge wave of worry rush through him. Jack had absolutely no idea what was causing all of this, and really wanted to know what was upsetting his friend so much.   
As Alex’s sobs got louder, Jack decided that it was time to confront Alex.   
He slowly turned himself around to see Alex holding his stomach with one hand and trying to wipe away his tears with the other. As soon as he realized that Jack was watching him, he froze up.  
“Alex, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, sitting up some.  
“Nothing, man, sorry for waking you,” Alex replied, his voice cracking some.  
“Alex, I’m not stupid, clearly something is right with you. Will you please just tell me what it is, you’re worrying me,” Jack stated.  
“Fine, my stomach really hurts,” Alex replied in a quivering voice.  
“Oh, well, why do you think it does?” Jack asked back.  
“The food I ate at the restaurant earlier tasted a bit undercooked, and I think that I know it was for sure now,” Alex explained.  
“I see. No offense or anything, dude, but don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit? Like, you’ll probably just puke and that’ll be the end of it,” Jack asked back.  
“It’s not that easy, Jack,” Alex replied.  
“Dude, yes, it is. I got food poisoning a couple of weeks ago. My stomach hurt like hell, I threw up, then everything was back to normal,” Jack stated.  
“Jack, I’m going to tell you something that only my mom knows. Throwing up scares the shit out of me,” Alex said, sounding a bit embarrassed.  
“Um, what do you mean by it scares you?” Jack continued.  
“Exactly what it sounds like. The whole concept freaks me out. It’s one of those irrational fears. I know it’s, like, really stupid, but that’s what I’m so upset about. I feel really sick from the food poisoning, but the thought of getting sick from it scares me and gives me anxiety, which makes my stomach hurt even more,” Alex explained.  
“Do you think you’re going to get sick soon?” Jack asked.  
“I don’t- I d-” Alex cut himself off with a gag, then swallowed hard as an even more anxious look appeared on his face.  
“Let’s get you to the bathroom, man,” Jack decided.  
“No, I don’t want-” Alex cut himself off with another gag, making Jack realize that he needed to get Alex in there as fast as he could.  
“Alex, let’s just go in there. Maybe nothing will happen, but if something does, it’ll be a lot better if we’re in there than in here. I’ll be right there with you, come on,” Jack said. Alex slowly got out of the bed and let Jack lead him to the bathroom.   
Jack suddenly realized that this was the first time he’d seen Alex sick in their five years of friendship, and now everything made sense to him. He remembered that Alex had gotten the stomach flu in their junior year of high school and had refused to let Jack visit him like he’d wanted to.   
Jack felt bad, he didn’t really know how to help in this situation, he didn’t have any phobias like this, so he couldn’t really relate. Jack helped Alex sit on the floor in front of the toilet, and he took a seat next to him. Alex continued to gag some as his breathing still sounded strained.  
“Hey Alex, take a deep breath for me. I know you’re freaked out, but the further you spiral in this anxiety attack, the worse you’re going to feel, which will just make your stomach hurt more. I’m going to stay right here, so if you do get sick, you won’t be alone,” Jack stated.   
“Thanks,” Alex shyly replied, swallowing big again.  
“Alex, don’t try to, like, hold it in. I know you don’t want to throw up, but you’ll just hurt yourself more if you try and stop this from happening,” Jack said. Alex gagged again, then suddenly started to throw up. Puking made Alex’s anxiety more intense, which ultimately made him sicker.  
“Alex, don’t think about this so much. You’re okay, I promise. Besides, I’m right here, and I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you, just get this over with,” Jack said once Alex finally got a break. Alex took some deep breaths, and quickly started to notice that his body felt a little less stressed now.  
“Do you feel any better now that you’ve gotten sick?” Jack asked his friend.  
“I guess, but I still feel really anxious,” Alex replied.  
“That’s understandable. Do you think you’re done, at least for now? I know it can be tricky to tell that with food poisoning,” Jack asked.  
“I think so. I really just want to sleep and forget about all of this forever,” Alex said back.  
“Let’s go back to bed, then. I’ll stay up with you until you fall asleep,” Jack decided. He helped Alex clean up a bit before leading him back to the bed. He helped Alex get comfortable, then got in on his side.  
“I wish I had some kind of anti-nausea medicine for you,” Jack stated.  
“It’s alright, I normally never take those. I always get afraid that they’ll just come back up,” Alex confessed.  
“Well, maybe try to take one next time you feel like you’re going to puke. I bet it’ll help you more than you think it will,” Jack replied.   
“Yeah, maybe. Hey, thanks for helping me out with all of this. I usually just deal with this myself because it’s a bit embarrassing. You know, actually getting sick, but then being so freaked out about it,” Alex stated.  
“No problem, dude. I’m glad you don’t have to suffer alone this time. I don’t have your exact problems, but I know how much it can suck to feel so shitty all alone. I just wish that you would’ve told me before now. Like, when we were in high school, so I could’ve helped you then, too,” Jack explained.   
“I wish I did, too. You’ve really helped me tonight, and I appreciate that a lot,” Alex said.  
“Well, I’m glad. Hey, I think I’m going to turn on the TV and find a movie for us, maybe it’ll distract you from how you’re feeling, and let you fall asleep easier,” Jack said, reaching for the remote.  
“Good idea,” Alex replied. Jack turned on the TV and scrolled through a bunch of channels until they found a comedy that looked interesting. After watching it for about twenty minutes, Jack felt Alex start to shift around some.  
“Are you doing okay, man?” Jack asked, looking over to his friend.  
“I think I have to be-” Alex cut himself off b gagging, and Jack could see small tears starting to form in Alex’s eyes again.  
“It’s okay, let’s just go to the bathroom again,” Jack replied. He helped Alex back into the bathroom and sat him down on the floor.  
“Jack, I really don’t want to do this again,” Alex said, looking paler now.  
“I know, but it won’t last long. You did it earlier, and you’re perfectly fine, that’ll happen again. don’t think about it too much, I’ll be right here,” Jack replied in a soothing voice.   
Before Alex could say anything, he started to get sick again. Jack rubbed Alex’s back like he’d done earlier and noticed that Alex seemed a bit calmer this time around, to his relief. After a few minutes, Alex finally stopped, and leaned up against Jack.  
“See, you’re okay,” Jack said.  
“Yeah, I was a lot less anxious this time, because of you. Thank you, Jack,” Alex replied.  
“No problem, I don’t want my best friend to be upset, you know that,” Jack replied, making Alex smile some.  
“I’m glad I got kicked out of private school and met you,” Alex stated.  
“Me too, man. want to try to go back to bed?” Jack suggested.  
“Yeah, I think so,” Alex replied. Jack helped Alex up, then took him back to bed, then resumed their movie. Alex got sick a couple more times in the night, and Jack helped him both times. Each time, Alex seemed slightly less anxious, which Jack was happy about. He was glad that Alex had talked to him about this, because helping his friends feel better always felt very rewarding to Jack.   
The two of them were very tired the next day, which Rian gave them plenty of grief about. Alex was feeling okay again, and he told his friends that they’d stayed up late watching movies, since he wasn’t ready to share his fear with everyone quite yet. From then on, Jack became Alex’s go to person when he wasn’t feeling well, since Jack was able to ease his anxieties, and generally make him feel less miserable when he was under the weather.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is another request for XxBlurryDiamondxX! Your other requests will be up in the near future! Sorry for the not so great title, I've always been bad at coming up with them. I've drafted almost every request I've gotten lately, and will continue to post them over the next two days, and after Saturday. The NP show I'm going to is a five hour drive away, so please send in some ideas if you have them, so I can write them on the drive up! Thank you for reading my work, I hope you all liked this one. Lots of love, Liv.


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